Although motorized “riding” golf carts have become increasingly popular in recent years, many golfers still prefer the benefits of walking during a round of golf. Walking the golf course provides considerably more physical exercise. It also requires less expense because a motorized cart does not have to be rented. Nonetheless, carrying a heavy golf bag can be physically strenuous and tiring, particularly during hot weather or when the terrain requires uphill climbs. An older golfer or a person with physical limitations may find it virtually impossible to tote his or her own bag. Traditionally, caddies were available to provide assistance. This practice has almost completely disappeared from many golf courses.
Currently, most golfers who walk utilize push carts or pull carts. A wide variety of such manually operable carts have been available for many years. Typically, the cart supports the golf bag and clubs at a tilted or inclined orientation. The cart rolls on a pair of wheels that engage the ground between the golfer and the bottom of the supported golf bag.
Conventional golf carts of the type described above exhibit a number of problems. Because the clubs are supported at an angle, they tend to be jumbled together in a pile within the bag. It is often difficult for the players to quickly and accurately differentiate the clubs and select the proper club for the next shot. Additionally, the constant jumbling of clubs can, over time, cause the clubs to nick, scratch and otherwise damage one another. It can also be awkward, difficult and annoying to remove a club from the pile of clubs in the tilted bag and then return the club to the bag after the shot is completed. Persons with physical limitations can have particular difficulty pulling clubs out of the bag. The clubs tend to stick and the grips are subjected to considerable wear and tear. All of these problems result directly from the fact that the bag is inclined and the clubs are therefore piled together within the bag.
Standard pull carts also tend to be fairly unstable. If the cart is placed on an uneven surface, the weight of the club heads can cause the bag to tip over. This is annoying, distracting and can result in lost golf equipment which falls out of the bag.